


Turn Up the Heat

by Copiel



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, Fever, Gen, Sick Character, Sick Lance (Voltron), Sickfic, Team Voltron Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-12-19 16:48:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11901954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Copiel/pseuds/Copiel
Summary: Lance just wants someone to make his room warmer, and he gets more than he bargained for.





	Turn Up the Heat

**Author's Note:**

> So, I guess I just needed more feverish Lance. No ships this time, but if you want to read into something, feel free!  
> This ended up being longer than I intended, but I think that's okay.  
> Enjoy!

Mornings around the castle were typically a breeze for Lance. He'd get up, wash his face mask off, and join the others at breakfast. On training days, he did the same, just ten times faster. That was why Lance was quick to proclaim himself as the team's designated 'Morning Person', much to the annoyance of everyone around him.

That being said, Lance did _not_ feel like a morning person today.

He groaned as he woke up, feeling a dull, persistant ache throughout his body. _Jeez, did I sleep wrong last night?_ Lance let out a yawn, which turned into a brief coughing fit. _Yep, definitely slept wrong._ He grunted as he pushed himself out of bed and into his bathroom, where he halfheartedly scrubbed at his face mask. He glanced at his reflection and let out a gasp that would rival a telenovela star.

"What's wrong with my face?" To anyone else, Lance would look perfectly normal, but he could see a monumental difference.

His face wasn't as glowy as usual. And to top it all off, his cheeks were a light shade of pink.

The blue paladin pouted. This was unacceptable. He didn't put this much effort into his masks for mediocre results. Lance sighed. "Well, nobody can be perfect all the time. Even though I'm pretty close." He winked and made finger guns at himself in the mirror.

He cut himself off with another coughing fit.

Lance made his way back to his bedroom, frowning when he shivered. "Jeez Louise, who turned the heat down?" He grabbed his robe, tying it around himself as tightly as he could. "Allura's probably testing us again. Lucky for me, my lion has ice powers, so I'm immune to the cold."

He sneezed.

"Ugh." Lance shivered again. "Man, she really made it chilly in here." He ended up grabbing his blanket and wrapping it around his shoulders. "Much better."

Despite not feeling his best, Lance trudged down to the dining hall. He had to show up, otherwise his friends would worry, and he didn't want that, especially when Allura was testing them.

"Good morning," he said, with half of his usual bravado.

"Morning, Lance." Hunk yawned. "What's with the blanket?"

"Let me guess, it's a cape?"

Lance shot Keith a glare. 

"Okay, I won't question it." He took a bite of food goo.

Lance looked down at his own plate. The green goop had never looked less appetizing.

"Hey guys." Pidge took the chair next to Lance.

He slid his plate in front of Pidge. "Here, I didn't eat any."

Pidge squinted at the goo regardless. "Did you do something to it?"

"Nah, I'm just not hungry."

Hunk gave him a concerned look. "Are you feeling alright?"

Lance shrugged. "I just slept weird last night."

"You really don't look too good, are you sure?"

"What makes you say that, Keith?" Lance spat.

"Calm down! You just look paler than usual. And sweaty. You should probably take that blanket off."

Lance shivered a bit, subconciously pulling the blanket a little tighter around himself. "So you guys don't think it's freezing in here?"

"No. Are you feverish?" Pidge leaned towards Lance.

Lance shot out of his seat. "No, my room was cold. I'm gonna find the thermostat."

As soon as he left the room, the three remaining paladins shared a look.

He's definitely sick," Pidge asserted. Keith and Hunk nodded in agreement.

* * *

 Lance all but stumbled into the control room.

"Hey, Lance." Shiro glanced up from the hologram he was studying. "What's up?"

"Shiro, do you know where Allura is? Or Coran?"

Shiro shook his head. "No idea. Can I help you?"

"Maybe, I just need the thermostat for my room. Do you know where it is?"

"No clue." Shiro studied Lance, taking in the blanket and his flushed face. "Are you alright? You look a little overheated."

"M'fine."

"It's okay if you're not feeling great, it happens-"

"I said I'm fine! I'm going to find Allura." Lance jogged out of the room before Shiro could protest.

The older man shrugged. If Lance didn't want to admit being sick, he didn't have to. He probably knew his limits.

He could take care of himself.

* * *

Ten minutes after talking with Shiro, Lance tracked down the Alteans in the infirmary. The doors were closed, and he could hear loud noises coming from behind them. When he knocked, they quieted, and Allura poked her head out of the door.

"Oh, hello Lance!" Lance opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "Coran and I are almost done with upgrading the scanners to include human physiology. Can you wait a few ticks?"

Lance gave an involuntary shiver. "I just need the thermostat, my room's too cold-"

A loud bang, followed by "Princess!" interrupted him.

"Wait here, I'll help you once we're finished." The doors slid shut, leaving Lance alone.

He sighed. All of his muscles ached, and he still felt cold.

 _I'm not going to sit here and pout. I can find the thermostat._ Lance would have continued his search around the castle, but the very thought of walking around some more made his legs feel achier than before. _On second thought, I'll give my legs a break._

Lance slid to the ground against the wall, facing the door. He could wait for Allura here. She'd be done in a few ticks.

With each passing blink, Lance's eyes grew heavier until he could barely keep them open. He yawned, deciding to take a power nap while he waited. Lance pulled the blanket around himself and curled up on the floor.

_Allura'll wake me up once she's done._

* * *

"That should do it!" Coran shut the scanner's hatch, satisfied with his work.

"Excellent! And it only took us two vargas!" Allura headed towards the door, intending to catch up with the mice now that she had finished. She was somewhat surprised to find Lance curled up on the floor.

"Lance?" She poked him with her foot. He didn't move, but made an odd snuffling sound. "Why would he fall asleep here?" Allura thought for a moment. "Oh, I remember! He wanted me to raise the temperature in his room."

"He what now?"

"Coran, can you help me move Lance to his quarters? I told him I'd help him with the temperature."

With Coran holding Lance's upper body and Allura holding his legs, the Alteans managed to get Lance into his room and back in bed without disturbing him. Coran even made sure to rearrange his blanket around him.

Allura pulled up the control panel for Lance's room. "Let's see, how high should I set it?" She settled for 80% of the suggested parameters on the display bar. Pidge's conversions popped up, saying 110°F.

"Coran, do you know what a small circle followes by an 'F' means?"

Coran studied the letters. "I'm not sure. Perhaps a unit of some sort?"

Allura nodded. "Well, hopefully that will be warm enough for Lance. He did seem rather cold earlier." She closed the holographic control panel. "Thank you for your assistance, Coran."

"Of course, Princess, though I feel Lance should be thanking us."

Allura chuckled. "Maybe. I'm sure he'll thank us after he wakes up."

* * *

"LUNCH IS READY!" Hunk boomed.

Shiro was the first to show, followed by Pidge and then Keith.

Hunk looked around, confused. "Where's Lance?" Lance usually sprinted to any mealtime besides breakfast.

"He's probably off pouting somewhere. He was clearly sick earlier and got mad when we noticed," Pidge added after Shiro gave her a confused look.

"I thought he looked a little under the weather earlier."

"Yeah, he didn't even eat his morning goo," Hunk commented.

"Then I hope he's up for joining us for lunch. He shouldn't fight off his illness on an empty stomach." Shiro sniffed the food in front of him. "It smells like...chicken?"

"What's a chicken?" Allura entered the room, followed by Coran.

"An Earth bird. Poultry." Hunk took a bite of his food. "Pretty much a staple where we're from."

"Princess, did Lance ever talk to you? He was looking for you and Coran earlier."

Allura turned to Shiro. "He did, right when Coran and I were in the middle of upgrading our medical scanners. He fell asleep before I got back to him, but I raised the temperature in his room as he requested."

Hunk frowned. "Where's Lance now?"

"We moved him back to his quarters, I believe he's still there." Coran tilted his head to the side. "Number five, what does a small circle followed by an 'F' mean in Earth terms?"

"My temperature conversions worked? Great!" Coran and Allura just blinked. "Anyway, it's a way we measure temperature, by degrees Farenheit, Celcius, or Kelvin, though Kelvin is usually reserved for scientific endeavors-"

" _Pidge,_ " Keith hissed.

"Right, sorry. How warm did you make his room?"

"I raised the heat to roughly 80% of the suggested comfort zone. I'm not sure what that was in feerenheets."

"I remember! It was 100 feetenhauts, if I'm correct."

Hunk dropped his utensil. "Lance had at _least_ a low-grade fever this morning."

"How long has he been in there?" Keith's gut began to twist anxiously. He was no medical expert, but he knew it was bad for feverish people to be in a hot area.

"About a varga, if he hasn't left."

The Alteans had never seen the paladins move so quickly.

Everyone sprinted to Lance's room. Keith made it to the door first, and just about forced it open.

His room was like a quiznaking sauna, but without any moisture in the air. Lance was still in bed. At least, Keith assumed he was, judging by the lump under his blanket.

Shiro pushed past Keith, yanking the blanket off. Lance was still clad in his pajamas and robe. Shiro began removing the latter and noticed it was soaked with sweat. Further investigation revealed that his bedsheets were in the same condition.

"Lance?" Hunk placed a hand on Lance's forehead, but recoiled almost immediately. "He's not sweating anymore."

"110?!" Pidge screeched.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't realize-"

"Princess!" Allura looked at Shiro, who was gathering Lance into his arms. "Go prep the infirmiry for Lance. Set up the scanner." Allura nodded, and ran out of the room, Coran close behind.

"Pidge, can you-" The room's temperature dropped back to normal. "Thanks."

"I'm going to find ice packs or something to cool him down." Hunk ran towards the kitchen.

"I'll go help Allura and Coran." Pidge sprinted off in the same direction as the Alteans.

"What should I do?"

Shiro rose, Lance hanging limp in his arms. "Try to get him responsive on the way there." He walked towards the infirmiry at a brisk pace.

Keith matched his stride and began poking Lance's chest. "Lance? You there?" He shook the other boy's shoulder a bit. "Come on, you gotta wake up for us."

Lance gave a small groan, but didn't stir.

Eerily enough, it reminded Shiro of the time Lance was injured, way back when the castle was bombed.

"That's a little better. Can you open your eyes?" Keith knew it wasn't going to happen. Lance was barely responsive, let alone conscious.

When they made it to the infirmary, Shiro carefully laid Lance onto the scanner's examination table. Allura pressed a button and it got to work.

The paladins gasped when they read 105.2°F.

Pidge swore. "We need to cool him down!"

"Scratch that, he needs a healing pod."

"I'm afraid it won't do any good, Keith. It says here Lance's illness was caused by a microscopic parasite, a veeris."

"Virus," Hunk corrected. He began placing cold packs on Lance's forehead, chest, and neck.

"Yes, well, the healing pods can only heal. It's against their programming to kill even the deadliest of diseases caused by these creatures." Allura frowned. "I suppose fluids could help with the dehydration. Coran, could you-?"

"Already on it." He was bringing out what looked like an IV and a bag of clear solution.

"Do Alteans not get sick from germs like viruses?"

Allura thought for a moment. "I'm sure we did, however, our medicine was so advanced we rarely needed to worry about anything this severe." She took a moment to take in Lance's appearence: bright red cheeks on a pale face, sweat-soaked hair plastered to his forehead, and an expression of discomfort to top it all off. "Will he be alright?"

"He wasn't at 107, which is what kills people, and it didn't look like he had a seizure. I think he'll be okay." Hunk glanced at the scanner's screen. "He's already down to 104.5, and he's only been in here for a few minutes."

Shiro nodded. "Now all we have to do is be here when he wakes up."

* * *

 Lance was having the strangest dream.

Everything was dark, and he was boiling. He'd never been so uncomfortably hot in his life, but no matter what, he couldn't move, save for shivering. Then, he heard his teammates' voices, but they were so muted he couldn't understand them. Arms picked him up, and he was being held like a baby. Another hand began poking and shaking him, and a voice cut through.

"Lance? You there?"

Lance was there, wherever that was, and he tried to tell the voice that. All he got out was a soft groan. The voice sounded pleased, but it was fading out again.

Everything was fading out. Lance felt like he was drifting, or maybe swinging in a hammock near the beach. That sounded nice. Man, he missed hammocks and beaches and his family.

He whimpered, a tiny sound, and then he felt something underneath him.

 _A bed? But not_ my _bed._

There was something on his arm, too. He wanted to swat it off, but his limbs weren't responding.

Something new touched his shoulder. He instinctively turned his head towards it and willed his eyes open.

A hand. No, Keith's hand. On his shoulder. 

Lance blinked a few times to make sure it was really there.

"Are you with me?" Lance blinked at Keith before nodding.

"Wha-" deep, honking coughs erupted from Lance's lungs. His mamá would call them 'seal coughs' if he was back home. When he stopped, the only thing he could do was lay there and breathe. "What happened?"

Keith passed Lance a glass of water. "You're really sick."

Lance took a sip. "I wasn't this bad earlier-"

"No, you weren't, but Allura accidentally turned up your room's temp to 110. It basically supercharged your fever and scared the shit out of everyone."

"Where are they?"

"We've been swapping shifts now that it's nighttime. I have to go wake Hunk up soon."

Lance blinked slowly. "M'tired."

"Get some sleep. Hunk or Shiro should be here when you wake up."

"'Kay." Lance yawned, and felt himself drifting again. When he was half-asleep, he jerked awake with a gasp.

"Lance! How're you doing?" Hunk smiled at his friend.

"Hunk," Lance said as he grasped Hunk's shoulder. With the seriousness of a man on his deathbed, Lance whispered "Don't let Allura touch the thermostat."

Hunk chuckled. "I won't. Are you going to sleep some more?"

Lance was already half asleep. "Thanks f'r bein' here."

"No problem, buddy." 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Lemme know what you thought!


End file.
